Rory McIlroy will play his first Texas Open in nine years as the field for next week’s PGA Tour event was confirmed. The Northern Irishman will make his first appearance at TPC San Antonio’s The Oaks course since 2013, when Scotland’s Martin Laird fired a course record-equalling closing 63 to pip him to the title.
McIlroy skipped the WGC-Match Play this week and instead will tee it up at the 100th Texas Open as he shakes up his Masters preparation this year. This is the first time in eight years that Rory has played so close to the annual trip to Augusta, which starts on April 7.
In 2014 the four-time Major winner played the Houston Open the week before the Masters, finishing tied 7th before ending the following week in Augusta tied 8th. Last time he played the Texas Open, a year previous, he followed that runner-up finish with a disappointing tie for 25th in the Masters.
McIlroy is aiming to become just the sixth player in golf history to complete a career Grand Slam with a victory in the Masters, having never finished better than his tied 4th place in 2015. Last year he failed to make the cut for the first time since 2010, possibly a factor in his decision to shake up his preparation this time around.
“I will definitely play San Antonio,” said the World No8. “If you don’t get through your group in the Match Play, it means almost two weeks off before arguably the biggest stroke play event of the year, and that’s a little too much for me. I’m going to play my way into the Masters. I am looking forward to returning to San Antonio and being a part of the 100th Anniversary of the Texas Open. I have fond memories of my last time competing there.”
Larson Segerdahl, Executive Director of the Texas Open, said “We are thrilled to welcome Rory back and excited for the fans as another extremely popular player adds his name to the field. Rory’s presence will certainly help elevate the stature of our 100th Anniversary Tournament this year.”
Joining McIlroy in the field in San Antonio will be reigning champion Jordan Spieth - who will be looking to become the first back-to-back champion since US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson in 2008 and 2009 - and Bryson DeChambeau, who is still battling back from a succession of injuries. Both exited the WGC-Match Play at the group stage this week, Spieth winning only one of his three games and DeChambeau finishing winless. Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who finished tied 30th in last year’s Texas Open before taking the green jacket a week later at Augusta, will try and repeat that formula this year.
To celebrate the tournament’s centenary, a number of former champions will be appearing, including Deane Beman (1969), Ben Crenshaw (1973 & 1986), Hale Irwin (1977), Lee Trevino (1980) and Tom Watson (1987).
TEXAS OPEN FIELD
- Aberg, Ludvig
- Ancer, Abraham
- Barjon, Paul
- Blixt, Jonas
- Bradley, Keegan
- Bramlett, Joseph
- Brehm, Ryan
- Buckley, Hayden
- Burgoon, Bronson
- Champ, Cameron
- Chappell, Kevin
- Clark, Wyndham
- Conners, Corey
- Cook, Austin
- Day, Jason
- DeChambeau, Bryson
- Donald, Luke
- Duncan, Tyler
- Finau, Tony
- Fowler, Rickie
- Frittelli, Dylan
- Garnett, Brice
- Ghim, Doug
- Glover, Lucas
- Grace, Branden
- Griffin, Lanto
- Haas, Bill
- Hadley, Chesson
- Hadwin, Adam
- Hagy, Brandon
- Hahn, James
- Hardy, Nick
- Herman, Jim
- Hickok, Kramer
- Higgo, Garrick
- Higgs, Harry
- Hodges, Lee
- Hoffman, Charley
- Hossler, Beau
- Howell III, Charles
- Huh, John
- Jaeger, Stephan
- Johnson, Zach
- Jones, Matt
- Kanaya, Takumi
- Kang, Sung
- Kern, Ben
- Kim, Si Woo
- Kirk, Chris
- Kizzire, Patton
- Knox, Russell
- Kohles, Ben
- Kraft, Kelly
- Kuchar, Matt
- Lahiri, Anirban
- Laird, Martin
- Landry, Andrew
- Lashley, Nate
- Lebioda, Hank
- Lee, Danny
- Lee, K.H.
- Lee, Min Woo
- Lipsky, David
- List, Luke
- Long, Adam
- Lower, Justin
- MacIntyre, Robert
- Malnati, Peter
- Matsuyama, Hideki
- McAllister, Logan
- McCarthy, Denny
- McDowell, Graeme
- McGirt, William
- McGreevy, Max
- McIlroy, Rory
- McNealy, Maverick
- Merritt, Troy
- Migliozzi, Guido
- Moore, Taylor
- Mullinax, Trey
- NeSmith, Matthew
- Noh, Seung-Yul
- Norlander, Henrik
- Novak, Andrew
- Ortiz, Carlos
- Palmer, Ryan
- Pan, C.T.
- Pendrith, Taylor
- Pereira, Mito
- Perez, Pat
- Poston, J.T.
- Poulter, Ian
- Putnam, Andrew
- Rai, Aaron
- Ramey, Chad
- Reavie, Chez
- Redman, Doc
- Reeves, Seth
- Riley, Davis
- Rodgers, Patrick
- Ryder, Sam
- Schenk, Adam
- Schwab, Matthias
- Sigg, Greyson
- Skinns, David
- Sloan, Roger
- Smalley, Alex
- Smotherman, Austin
- Snedeker, Brandt
- Spaun, J.J.
- Spieth, Jordan
- Stallings, Scott
- Stanley, Kyle
- Steele, Brendan
- Stenson, Henrik
- Streb, Robert
- Streelman, Kevin
- Stuard, Brian
- Svensson, Adam
- Swafford, Hudson
- Taylor, Nick
- Theegala, Sahith
- Thompson, Curtis
- Todd, Brendon
- Trainer, Martin
- Tway, Kevin
- Vegas, Jhonattan
- Villegas, Camilo
- Walker, Jimmy
- Wallace, Matt
- Watney, Nick
- Werenski, Richy
- Westwood, Lee
- Whaley, Vince
- Woodland, Gary
- Wu, Dylan
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